Hard Evidence: is the UK shunned at Eurovision?

7 May 2014

It’s that time of the year again. One of the biggest events in Europe’s (and the world’s) cultural calendar, the Eurovision song contest is legendary.The attention paid to this bizarre show is enormous. And with such levels of investment and discussion, analysis and coverage, come the inevitable accusations of tactical voting and prejudice. This was notoriously seen in 2007 when Terry Wogan declaimed the “blatant bias” of the voting system. Many people get particularly upset about the supposed bias against the UK’s act, writes Dr Gianluca Baio (UCL Statistical Science) in The Conversation.